Angels soar past Smoky Hill into another Class 6A Final 4
Saturday morning’s Denver East- Smoky Hill basketball game was nothing less than a highlight extravaganza.
Great 8, indeed.
In the end, East’s tenacious defense forced key turnovers and its star players delivered when it counted the most, leading the Angels to a 77- 71 victory in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A state basketball tournament at the Denver Coliseum. The No. 4 Angels ( 24- 2) roll into next week’s Final 4 riding a 24- game winning streak. They will play Mountain Vista.
East senior Austin Mohr led all scorers with 21 points on 8- of- 15 shooting ( including 3 of 6 on 3s) and gobbled up a game- high 13 rebounds. But this was a contest of multiple acts and talented players.
“Yeah, great game. And this was one of our tougher games, and we knew it would be competitive,” said Angels senior point guard D’aundre Samuels, who scored 19 points before fouling out. “But this team is all about chemistry. We’ve built a bond this season that I have never felt before.”
This was a game full of monster jams and magic moments.
At the end of the first half, East’s Ryan Kelly banked in a 30- foot , buzzer- beating 3- pointer to extend the Angels’ lead to 42- 37.
But every time East made a run, the Buffaloes answered. Down 5442 midway through the third quarter, Smoky Hill senior guard Rickey Mitchell drained back- to- back 3s off the dribble to cut East’s lead to 54- 48. And when Carter Basquez drained a 3- pointer in the fourth quarter, the Buffs took a 60- 59 lead.
But late in the fourth, the Angels scored three
crucial buckets off offensive rebounds — one by Sam Scott, one by Samuels and one on a put- back dunk by Gil Gonzalez — and took advantage when Mitchell fouled out with 5: 55 to play.
Yet of all of the highlights in the frenetic game, the one that will be remembered most arrived in the second quarter. With Smoky Hill in a full- court press, Samuels received an in- bounds pass on the run, broke through pressure, crossed midcourt and lofted a long pass toward the rim. Gonzalez took flight and jammed it home.
“That was tough man, that was tough,” Samuels said.
Added Gonzalez: “That’s something we always work on. We’re always working for perfection. The chemistry with this team is so special and I knew that pass was coming and I was ready for the jam.”
The fifth- seeded Buffaloes, looking for their first trip to the Final 4 in 17 years, finished 20- 6. Coach Anthony Hardin, proud of his team and able to appreciate
the quality of the game, was nonetheless disappointed in two things.
“We were expecting an exciting game, and that’s why the whole community is ( ticked) that it was a ( 10: 15 a. m.) game,” Hardin said.
Both teams played sloppy in the early going, something Harding attributed to the morning tip. The coach was also disappointed that both Mitchell ( 17 points) and Samuels fouled out.
“I’m trying to stay positive, but everyone who is here bought a ticket to see Rickey Mitchell and D’aundre Samuels and we would like them to be on the floor,” he said.
Samuels, who had to sit the final 2: 38, never doubted his teammates would deliver.
“I just had trust that they were going to pull through,” he said.
The Angels will enter the Final 4 carrying the memory of a lost classmate on their minds.
Luis Garcia, 16, was sitting in his car near East High on Feb. 13 when he
was shot and critically injured. He died Wednesday after being hospitalized for more than two weeks. Some East High students walked out of class Friday and marched to the state capital chanting “No more silence, end gun violence.” The players took the court Saturday wearing T- shirts inscribed: “# Angelsstrong … Luis.”
“Gun violence has become a problem at our school,” Gonzalez said. “And my friend, Luis, recently passed away due to gun violence. We are dedicating this win to him.”
NO. 1 MOUNTAIN VISTA 75, NO. 8 VALOR CHRISTIAN 66 >>
It came with a few tense moments, but Mountain Vista’s quest to win its first state title is alive and well.
Senior guard Radek Homer put up a game- high 23 points, 6- foot- 9 senior Caden Stevens scored 19 points, blocked four shots and altered countless others, and the Golden Eagles withstood a fourth- quarter Valor rally to advance to next Friday’s Final 4 and a matchup with Denver East.
The long- armed Mountain Vista defense harassed Valor into 28.1% shooting in the first half, then jumped ahead by as many as 19 points in the third quarter. But the Eagles briefly caught fire, drawing to within five when Ryan Dixon finished baseline on Stevens with 4: 22 left.
That was as close as Valor would get, however, as Wes Baskind converted back- to- back Eagles turnovers into baskets to go back up 12 — the last an emphatic two- hand jam that put away a game MV led from start to finish. Cal Baskind and Brendan Diehl had 10 points apiece for MV ( 24- 2).
Clark Hodge led Valor ( 18- 8) with 16 points, Cole Scherer had 12 points and two assists, and Archer Vansickle 11 points.
NO. 3 FOSSIL RIDGE 71, NO. 6 FORT COLLINS 58 >>
Patience paid off big time for the Sabercats ( 24- 2) in the Class 6A quarterfinals and they’re returning to the Final 4 after finishing as the Class 5A runner- up last year.
Finding senior 6- foot- 7 senior Nick Randall open at the right spots at the right times, the Sabercats broke open a close game in the fourth quarter to win going away. Randall scored 31 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Fossil Ridge avenged a 55- 52 home loss to the Lambkins earlier in the season. Randall was nearly perfect, making all 13 shots from the field and making five of his eight free- throw attempts.
“We stuck with our game plan from the very beginning, which is something we didn’t do when they beat us last time,” Fossil Ridge coach Matt Johannsen said. “The last time we played them, we were impatient trying to get Randall the ball. They were ready for that, but today I was very pleased with our execution.”